CVE-2025-54595: alienator88 Pearcleaner · OS Command Injection
Affects alienator88 PearcleanerSource CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.3 High · fixed in 4.5.2 : patch alienator88 Pearcleaner soon.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 8% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
- Patch
- Available – fixed in 4.5.2
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 1 Aug 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.
What to do
AI-suggested
- Immediate upgrade to Pearcleaner version 4.5.2 or later, where the vulnerability is fixed, is the most effective mitigation.
- Until upgrade, restrict local user access to systems running vulnerable Pearcleaner versions to trusted personnel only.
- Monitor and audit the activation of the PearcleanerHelper LaunchDaemon and the approval prompts to detect unauthorized approvals.
- Employ macOS security features such as System Integrity Protection (SIP) and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) tools to detect anomalous privilege escalations or unauthorized command executions.
- Consider removing or disabling PearcleanerHelper if not essential, or replacing Pearcleaner with alternative macOS cleaning tools that do not require privileged helpers.
- Educate users about the risks of approving privileged operations and implement policies to minimize unnecessary approvals.
- Use application whitelisting and restrict execution of unknown or untrusted local processes to reduce the risk of exploitation by local attackers.
Description
Pearcleaner is a free, source-available and fair-code licensed mac app cleaner. The PearcleanerHelper is a privileged helper tool bundled with the Pearcleaner application. It is registered and activated only after the user approves a system prompt to allow privileged operations. Upon approval, the helper is configured as a LaunchDaemon and runs with root privileges. In versions 4.4.0 through 4.5.1, the helper registers an XPC service (com.alienator88.Pearcleaner.PearcleanerHelper) and accepts unauthenticated connections from any local process. It exposes a method that executes arbitrary shell commands. This allows any local unprivileged user to escalate privileges to root once the helper is approved and active. This issue is fixed in version 4.5.2.
References
- github.com/alienator88/Pearcleaner/security/advisories/GHSA-gr2j-65fh-8pvc (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/alienator88/Pearcleaner/issues/278 (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/alienator88/Pearcleaner/commit/69afadfa95791cb998118ca35c227007b230b984 (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/alienator88/Pearcleaner/releases/tag/4.5.2 (opens in a new tab)